Another celestial star disappeared from the sky of Hindustani classical music today. Today another classical music star has departed from this world. We are talking about one of the legends Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. Who for his heavenly abode. Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, who popularized a folk instrument like Santoor in the world of common people, passed away at the age of 84 due to cardiac arrest.
It is being told that the famous santoor player Pandit Shivkumar Sharma has passed away due to a heart attack. He was 84 years old and was suffering from kidney-related ailments for the last 6 months. He was on dialysis. But meanwhile, he passed away this morning. He is survived by his wife Manorama and son Rahul Sharma. Pandit Shivakumar was known for giving prestige to the santoor instrument both nationally and internationally.
Our cultural world is poorer with the demise of Pandit Shivkumar Sharma Ji. He popularised the Santoor at a global level. His music will continue to enthral the coming generations. I fondly remember my interactions with him. Condolences to his family and admirers. Om Shanti.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 10, 2022
His pairing with the famous musician Hariprasad Chaurasia was very popular. The pair were known as ‘Shiva-Hari’. In 1967, with the album Call of the Valley’, Toofan became popular. He played in this album with Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and guitarist Brij Bhushan Kabra.
Padma Vibhushan awardee Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma was a great singer. He has been awarded with many national and international awards. Talking about various honors, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1986, the Padma Shri in 1991, and the Padma Vibhushan Award in 2001. In 1985, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma has conferred the honorary citizenship of Baltimore, United States of America.
Shivakumar, who made Santoor a popular folk musician in Kashmir, also made a name for himself in the world of classical music. He composed music for several films including Yash Chopra’s ‘Silsila’ (1980). The duo later composed music for the films ‘Fasle’ (1985), ‘Chandni’ (1989), ‘Lamhe’ (1991), and ‘Darr’ (1993). There is a wave of mourning among classical music lovers due to his death.
